Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker describes Maia Sandu as “well-exposed actor” who has never missed chance to criticise Georgia

Nino Tsilosani, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday criticised Moldovan President Maia Sandu for her comments on Georgia, calling her a predictable actor who consistently targeted Georgia.

Tsilosani commented on Maia Sandu’s address at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), where she spoke about Georgia in the context of Russia’s alleged hybrid influence.

In her remarks, Tsilosani emphasised that Sandu’s criticisms were ideologically driven and not grounded in legitimate analysis.

“Maia Sandu is the President of a country who can bluntly declare that she would dissolve her own country and incorporate it into Romania. It is obvious to everyone what ideological orbit she belongs to, and we certainly cannot expect legitimate criticism from her”, she said.

The Vice Speaker highlighted that Sandu openly supported participants in Georgia’s October 4 attempted state coup, making her criticisms predictable and politically motivated.

“This is a person who on October 4 openly supported people involved in an attempted state coup. It is easy to understand what every one of Maia Sandu’s statements regarding Georgia is connected to. It is also easy to see which political camp she belongs to”, she noted.

Tsilosani also suggested that Sandu’s statements were part of a broader strategy used by some politicians to distract from domestic issues in the European Union and to manipulate public perception by using Georgia as a convenient target.

“Generally, the activation of such statements regarding Georgia most likely makes me think that this is not only related to politicians activated by shadowy and hidden political forces, but also that it may be used partially to cover up problems facing the European Union”, she said.

“I have no doubt that these politicians and actors use false disinformation about Georgia to intimidate their own electorate. Through these absurd narratives, they try to shift focus away from their own problems, and often that focus falls on Georgia, because Georgia never escapes the negative attention they use for their own purposes”, Tsilosani concluded.

In her address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Moldovan President Maia Sandu spoke about Russia’s hybrid operations and claimed that Moscow had brought Georgia back into its orbit by exploiting fears of war.